


A Thousand Paper Cranes

by Kaorumi



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest Spoilers, Nohr | Conquest Route, Short Chapters, dumb plot twist, literally just Takumi folding cranes through his life, maybe not but who cares, seriously these chapters would be less than a thousand words, slowly falling ill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2018-09-24 15:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9769070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaorumi/pseuds/Kaorumi
Summary: It started with a mindless thought. He didn’t intend to do anything really. He just… did. His hands just moved on its own when he reached the last slip of paper. It was smooth under his fingertips, and bent easily at each crease. When he was aware, he realized that all he had left in his hands was a crane.Or Takumi slowly begins to form a wish he never thought he would





	1. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really, really short chapters, but all about Takumi's journey of making those cranes from a very young age all the way to his goal. Something to note* Takumi will not get possessed like he did in conquest. 
> 
> Inspired from these tumblr posts:
> 
> http://acloudylight.tumblr.com/post/148509044193/i-wish-i-could-call-him-my-brother-takumi
> 
> http://acloudylight.tumblr.com/post/157174014798/i-heard-that-a-thousand-cranes-would-grant-a

It didn’t mean anything at first. It was only one. His tiny hands folded the thin paper with difficulty, unfamiliar with the steps as his mother guided him through. He listened with patience and pure curiosity. 

“You know, Takumi, if you fold a thousand of these, your wish will come true.” 

“My wish? But I don’t have a wish. Well… not right now. Maybe later?” 

There was a soft laugh from his mother as she gently brushed his hair, “Sometimes, no one knows what their wish will be until they finally reach the end.” 

“That actually sounds like fun! I guess I can try to make—how many again?”

“A thousand of them,” his mother told him. He perked up as his eyes widened. 

“U-uhm… That’s a lot, right?” 

His mother only laughed.

The moment he finished, a red, rumpled form of a crane sat in his hand. It didn’t join with the other paper animals scattered around them. It was hard work to make each fold, and it made him wonder if making a thousand would really be worth it. He nearly asked; the words were at the tip of his tongue, but his older brother came to get him. He wanted to stay, to listen to his mother’s stories and maybe fold another crane. 

With one encouraging nod from his mother, he got up and followed after his brother. 

When night arrived and his mother saw him to bed, his red crane sat at the windowsill.

Vaguely, he wondered if the crane was watching over him, keeping him safe from the nightmares that tended to come. He looked over to the crane as he fell asleep. 

Maybe he’d make a few more to give his new crane some friends… later.


	2. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so short, and it took me months, lol.

 

 

There was a small chest now. It sat in the corner of his room near the window, filled with multicolored cranes. It still wasn’t much, but it was still something. Takumi eventually learned his numbers by picking up and counting the colored origami. There was still a stack of unfolded origami sitting on his nightstand. Takumi spent his time with his mother, who held baby Sakura in her arms as she told him stories as he stayed inside all day. 

He tried to fold one crane a day, but it was hard to keep up. Some days, he would find his hands too shaky to fold the origami. Other days, he was too tired to stay up at all.

Sometimes, his sister Hinoka would help him with one or two, and even his brother Kamui would bring him a few sweets from the kitchens. 

And yet, he barely saw them. 

At times, Ryoma would spend an entire day with him, playing games that allowed Takumi to venture out of his room. 

He didn’t mind. It was always fun when his brothers and sister came to see him. 

The other adults spoke in quite tones, always around him but never towards him; behind the paper doors and thin walls. 

He didn't mind. He was fine with his own father holding him as he read a story to him. His father's warmth always seeped in Takumi's cold skin, allowing him to rest in comfort on days he was too sore. 

His family loved him. 

And he loved them too. 


	3. Six

“Would you like me to read a story, Takumi?” asked the woman before him. He only started at her, holding a slip of origami in his tiny hands. She smiled softly, moving toward the bookshelf. He didn’t say anything, or moved from his place in his bed.

“Hmm, how does The Kitsune and the Garou* sound? Or the Little Crane That Flew?” the woman asked as she read the spines of the books. Takumi didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to watch her with blank eyes.

Who was she?

What was she doing?

She turned to look at him with a smile gracing her lips, “How about The Little Tree?”

He didn’t make a sound as the woman pulled the book from the shelf and took a seat at the corner of his bed. “Ikona mentioned that you did like this book.”

As she began to open the book, Takumi finally addressed her.

“Who are you?”

The woman paused and looked at him with slight surprise. Her long black ponytail swayed gently as she lifted a hand to place on his head.

“You don’t remember me?” she asked, “I am Makoto, Kamui’s mother.”

“Where’s mama?” he asked in confusion. The smile on her face faltered for a second as she fixed the blankets around him.

“You must be tired, dear--”

“Mama-- where is she?”

The woman only stared at him as her eyes seemed to water. 

“Where is mama?” 

He asked over and over and over. The woman never gave him an answer. Instead, she hulled his bed and wrapped her arms around him as she ran hands through his hair. Her steady movements lured him to sleep. The constant question turned into incoherent mutters as Takumi’s eyes began to drop. Even as his breathing deepened, the woman never answered him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the stories here are just made up stuff. 
> 
> *The Kitsune and the Garou - it’s literally the fox and the werewolf. I’d like to think that it’s like the fox and the hound.


End file.
